Wall lead-in for feeder liner

ABSTRACT

A wall lead-in for at least one feeder line ( 10 ) and including an element formed of an expandable material ( 11 ) and provided in an intermediate annular space between a through-opening ( 7 ) formed in a wall ( 8 ) and the at least one feeder line ( 10 ), and a sleeve-shaped form member having an outer diameter corresponding to a diameter of the through-opening ( 7 ), designed for surrounding the feeder line ( 10 ) and arrangeable coaxially therewith, and formed of a form element ( 1 ) made of a perforated strip material and having a predetermined length.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a lead-in for feeder lines suchas current conductors and water conduits which extend throughthrough-openings formed, in particular, in hollow walls, such as sidewalls, partitions and ceilings, and in particular to a lead-in designedfor bridging the hollow space of a hollow wall. The present inventionalso relates to a method of forming such a lead-in.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] German Publication DE-19915667 discloses filling an intermediateannular space between a feeder line and the through-opening with anexpandable material such as a polymer foam. The expandable materialpenetrates not unsubstantially into the hollow space when a pressure,which is required for a complete filling of the intermediate space, isapplied.

[0005] German Publication DE-19955765 discloses closing an intermediatespace between the through-opening and a feeder line with self-expandableband which is wound about the feeder line. The band is capable to closea narrow hollow space in a wall. However, a wide space such as exists,e.g., between walls of a formwork, the band cannot bridge.

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,351 discloses the use of a rigid sleeve whichis inserted into the intermediate space and which forms part of thelead-in. Such sleeves are only suitable for walls in which the oppositethrough-opening have the same diameter, and they should be mountedbefore the feeder line itself is inserted.

[0007] German Publication DE-25 51 693 discloses filling of theintermediate space with mineral wool, with sealing of the hollow spacewith expanded sheet metal.

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,346 discloses filling the volume of theintermediate space with spherical expanded sheet metal insertable intoeach other, which provides for heat conductance between the wall and thefeeder line.

[0009] German Publication DE-35 35 251 discloses a dowel for securing alead-in to walls with a hollow space therebetween. The dowel is cementedin a blind bore and has a radially outer, surrounding dowel sleeve thatis formed of a metal grid or a perforated sheet metal and is insertedinto the bore beforehand.

[0010] German Publication DE-36 43 708 discloses using a sheet metal ormetal cloth covered with intumescent material.

[0011] German Publication DE-196 20 898 discloses use of an intumescentscotch tape.

[0012] An object of the present invention is to provide a wall lead-infor feeder lines and suitable for bridging the hollow space of a hollowwall.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0013] These and other objects of the present invention, which willbecome apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a lead-in havingintermediate spacer means formed of an expandable material and providedbetween a through-opening formed in a wall and the at least one feederline, and a sleeve-shaped form member, having an outer diametercorresponding to a diameter of the through-opening, designed forsurrounding the feeder line and arrangeable coaxially therewith, andformed of a form element made of a perforated strip material having apredetermined length.

[0014] By using a sleeve-shaped, rigid form member, which at leastpartially bridges the wall hollow space, a necessary pressure can beused for filling the intermediate space between the through-opening andthe feeder line with expandable and hardenable material. The expandableand hardenable material which pours at least partially out through theopenings of the perforated form member, after hardening, reliablysecures the form member and the feeder line with the wall.

[0015] Advantageously, the perforated form element, of which the formmember is formed, is formed of a manually plastically stretchablematerial, advantageously, of expandable metal sheet, metal cloth,perforated sheet metal, at least 50% of which is occupied by openings,or of a plastic grid 50% of the surface of which is occupied byopenings. The form elements can be manually formed with differentthicknesses.

[0016] Advantageously, the perforated form element, upon being formedinto a sleeve-shaped, form member, has a region formed by overlappingside edges having substantially the same width. The form element isusually cut off from a yardware band and with a length corresponding tothe circumference of a wall through-opening into which the to-be formedform member is to be inserted.

[0017] Advantageously, the sleeve-shaped form member has axial end edgeswhich are formed by side edges of the form element which, optionally,can be free of perforation. This prevents any possibility of damage ofregions projecting beyond the wall surface.

[0018] Advantageously, the side edges are provided with a continuousself-locking element or with spaced from each other, self-lockingsections, which insure, upon forming the sleeve-shaped form member,fixed connection of the end edges with each other.

[0019] For sealing the intermediate space between the through-openingand feeder line, first a form element is cut off of a perforated stripmaterial available in form of yardware, taking into consideration thecircumference of the wall through-opening, the width of the overlappingregion of the to-be-formed sleeve-shaped form member, and loss of lengthupon cutting. Then, the form element is plastically stretched on thewall and is bent around the feeder line, whereby the sleeve-shaped formmember is formed. Finally, the overlapping region is closed by using theself-locking elements provided on the side edges of the form element.Thereafter, the sleeve-shaped form member is inserted through theintermediate space between the through-opening and the feeder line, andthe annular space between the form member and the feeder line is filledwith an expandable and hardenable, foamed material which pours outthrough the perforated form member, securing the form member and thefeeder line to the wall.

[0020] According to the present invention, a fire-resistant lead-inelement can be formed by using a perforated form element e.g. expandedmetal in combination with intumescent material which expands and fillsthe intermediate space upon occurrence of fire.

[0021] A fire-resistant lead-in element includes a relatively stiffperforated form element having an inherent stiffness and a plurality ofopenings at its surface and is designed for being bent around a feederline coaxially therewith and insertable into an intermediate spacebetween a wall through-opening and the feeder line, and a layer of anintumescent material provided on the form element at least in a regionof the form element to be located in the intermediate space.

[0022] Advantageously, the size of the openings of the perforated formelement does not exceed 50 mm. As a result, the expandable intumescentmaterial only unsubstantially penetrates through the form element.However, the form element remains plastically deformable.

[0023] Advantageously, the entire perforated form element is coveredwith the layer of the intumescent material, so that the intumescentmaterial is uniformly distributed over the form element, and the formelement remains mechanically stable.

[0024] Advantageously, the perforated form element with a layer of anintumescent material is bent about the feeder line helicoidally severaltimes over itself, with the radial dimension of the laps being adaptedto the intermediate annular space.

[0025] The fire-resistant lead-in form element has both its end edgescovered with a strip-shaped layer of an intumescent material, whichinsures a reliable sealing the intermediate annular space on oppositesides of the follow space, without penetration of the intumescentmaterial in the hollow space, which is ineffective in the hollow space.

[0026] The novel features of the present invention, which are consideredas characteristic for the invention, are set forth in the appendedclaims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction andits mode of operation, together with additional advantages and objectsthereof, will be best understood from the following detailed descriptionof preferred embodiments, when read with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The drawings show:

[0028]FIG. 1 shows a reel of a perforated yardware material used informing a lead-in according to the present invention;

[0029]FIG. 2 shows a section of the yardware material shown in FIG. 1 ofwhich a lead-in form element is formed;

[0030]FIG. 3 shows the section of the yardware material shown in FIG. 2in a stretched condition;

[0031]FIG. 4 shows a detail IV in FIG. 3 at an increased scale;

[0032]FIG. 5 shows a section of a hollow wall through which a feederline extends;

[0033]FIG. 6 shows a lead-in form element;

[0034]FIG. 7 shows formation of an intermediate annular spacer betweenthe form element and the feeder line;

[0035]FIG. 8 shows the lead-in formed as fire-resistant element; and

[0036]FIG. 8A shows a detail VIII A in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0037]FIG. 1 shows a reel 2 of a perforated yardware material of which asection having a length L is cut for forming a lead-in form element 1according to the present invention.

[0038]FIG. 2 shows a cut-off section of the perforated material havingsimilarly formed side edges 3 a, 3 b.

[0039]FIG. 3 shows the same section as FIG. 2 cut in a stretchedcondition, with the perforaton openings 4 occupying 50% of the surfaceof the form element 1. The section is stretched manually uponapplication of a force F to width B. This section has non-perforated,smooth side edges 5 a, 5 b provided each with a continuous self-lockingmechanism 6 a, 6 b, which extends along the entire length of the formelement section and which is shown in detail in FIG. 4.

[0040]FIG. 5 shows the formation of the lead-in form member. Thestretched perforated form element, which is shown in FIG. 3, is bentabout a feeder line 10 that extends through a hollow wall 8 having ahollow space 9. Upon bending the stretched form element 1 about thefeeder line 10, the sleeve-shaped form member is formed. As shown inFIG. 6, the sleeve-shaped form member has an overlapping region X. Theoverlapping region X is closed with self-locking mechanisms 6 a, 6 bwhich are provided, respectively, on side edges 5 a, 5 b that form endedges of the sleeve-shaped form member. After the sleeve-shaped formmember is formed, it is inserted through the through-opening 7 in thewall 8, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 7, in the ring space between the form member andthe feeder line 10, an expandable and hardenable, formed material 11 isinjected.

[0042] Generally, FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 illustrate the method offorming a wall lead-in according to the present invention.

[0043]FIG. 8 shows formation of the lead-in as a fire-resistant element.A stretched, perforated form element 1, which is formed as anintralaminar prefolded metal grid with mesh size 5 mm×5 mm is benthelicoidally several times about the feeder line 10, which extendsthrough the through-opening 7 formed in a hollow wall 8 with a hollowspace 9. The opposite, spaced ends of the sleeve-shaped member areprovided each with a strip-shaped layer formed of an intumescentmaterial 11. The strip-shaped layer has a width of about 20 mm and athickness of about 5 mm. The strips of the intumescent material areprovided axially outside of the hollow space 9 adjacent thereto.

[0044] Though the present invention was shown and described withreferences to the preferred embodiments such are merely illustrative ofthe present invention and are not to be construed as a limitationthereof, and various modifications to the present invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, not intendedthat the present invention be limited to the disclosed embodiments ordetails thereof, and the present invention includes all of variationsand/or alternative embodiments within the spirit and scope of thepresent invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wall lead-in for at least one feeder line (10),comprising means formed of an expandable material (11) and provided inan intermediate annular space between a through-opening (7) formed in awall (8) and the at least one feeder line (10); and a sleeve-shaped formmember having an outer diameter corresponding to a diameter of thethrough-opening (7), designed for surrounding the feeder line (10) andarrangeable coaxially therewith, and formed of a form element (1) madeof a perforated strip material and having a predetermined length.
 2. Awall lead-in according to claim 1, wherein the perforated strip materialis a manually stretchable material.
 3. A wall lead-in according to claim1, wherein the form element (1) has similarly formed side edges (3 a, 3b) which overlap each other in the sleeve-shaped form member.
 4. A walllead-in according to claim 1, wherein the form element (1) is cut off ofyardware reel (2).
 5. A wall lead-in according to claim 1, wherein theform element (1) has smooth side edges (5 a, 5 b) forming end edges ofthe form member (1).
 6. A wall lead-in-according to claim 5, wherein atleast one side edge is non-perforated.
 7. A wall lead-in according toclaim 5, wherein at least one of the side edges (5 a, 5 b) hasself-locking means (6 a, 6 b).
 8. A wall lead-in according to claim 7,wherein the self-locking means (6 a, 6 b) is one of continuousself-locking means and formed of separate elements distributed over acircumference of the at least one of side edges.
 9. A method of sealingan intermediate annular space between a through-opening (7) formed in awall (8) and a feeder line (10), the method comprising the steps ofproviding a form element (1) formed of a section of a perforated stripmaterial having a predetermined length; manually plastically binding theform element (1) about the feeder line (10) forming a sleeve-shaped formmember; inserting the sleeve-shaped form member axially in thethrough-opening (7); and injecting, in an intermediate space between thefeeder line (10) and the form member, an expandable and hardenable,formed material (11), the form member being secured to the wall (7) bythe formed material poured through perforation of the form member.
 10. Amethod according to claim 9, wherein the bending strip includes closingthe sleeve-shaped form member in a region (X) of overlapping side edgesthereof with locking means (6 a, 6 b) provided over a circumference ofthe form member.
 11. A method according to claim 9, wherein theproviding step includes cutting the form element (1) off a reel of ayardware perforated material.
 12. A method according to claim 9, whereinthe expandable, hardenable, foamed material comprises an intumescentmaterial.
 13. A method according to claim 12, wherein openings (4) ofthe perforated form element have a size smaller than 50 mm².
 14. Afire-resistant led-in form element comprising an inherently stiffperforated form element for being bent around a feeder line (10)coaxially therewith and insertable into an intermediate annular spacebetween a wall through-opening (7) through which the feeder lineextends, and the feeder line (10); and intumescent material means (11′)provided on the form element (1) at least in a region of the formelement (1) to be located in the intermediate annular space.
 15. Afire-resistant lead-in form element according to claim 14, wherein theintumescent material means (11′) is provided on the form element atleast partially in form of a layer.
 16. A fire-resistant lead-in formelement according to claim 14, wherein the form element (1) with theintumescent layer is bendable about a feeder line (10) helicoidallyseveral times over itself.
 17. A fire-resistant lead-in form elementaccording to claim 14, wherein the intumescent material means (11′) isprovided in form of a layer covering opposite side edges of theperforated form element (1).
 18. A fire-resistant lead-in form elementaccording to claim 14, wherein openings (4) of the perforated formelement (1) are of a size smaller than 50 mm².